Monday October 27th was the first day of a landmark jury trial against Chevron in San Francisco. A protest took place Monday afternoon at noon at the Chevron gas station at the corner of 9th and Howard in San Francisco in solidarity with Nigerian plaintiffs who were in Federal court nearby.

Chevron has been charged with gross human rights abuses associated with its oil production activities in Nigeria. The lawsuits are based on a 1998 incident in which Nigerian soldiers shot nonviolent protesters at Chevron’s Parabe offshore platform. The soldiers, who are routinely paid by Chevron, were ferried to the platform in Chevron helicopters and supervised by Chevron personnel. Two protesters were killed in the brutal attack and others were injured. One protester was subsequently tortured by the Nigerian authorities based on Chevron’s claim that he was a pirate. In a recent ruling in the case, a U.S. District Court judge found evidence that Chevron’s personnel “were directly involved” in this attack, transporting the soldiers despite knowing that they were “prone to use excessive force,” and concluded that the evidence would allow a jury to find not only that Chevron assisted the soldiers knowing that they would attack the protestors, but also that Chevron actually agreed to the military’s plan.